Crews close in on full containment of Valley Fire outside Boise. Costs exceed $4 million

The Valley Fire, which burned through nearly 10,000 acres in the Boise Foothills, is now 90% contained while repair efforts start ramping up.

The Idaho Department of Lands said this week that Idaho Power was responsible for the fire, the result of an energized line from a downed power pole causing several ignitions.

The fire threatened Barber Valley homes during its first day after it was reported early Friday, Oct. 4, but it has not burned any structures, according to officials. It has remained at 9,904 acres for over a week, with the most active section remaining at the northeast of the fire, closest to the Robie Creek community, the Department of Lands said in a news release Friday.

Robie Creek was released from evacuation status as of Wednesday, Oct. 16.

Idaho Power noted in a release Monday that the power pole involved in the fire had been inspected three times this year, with no problems spotted. The Department of Lands found no evidence of rot or infestation, the Idaho Statesman previously reported.

Two weeks after the fire began, crews are closing in on full containment. And as fire's risk of spreading diminishes, especially with recent cool temperatures, personnel from a Nevada incident management team are focusing on repair and suppression efforts.

The team is responsible for repairing damage caused by the act of firefighting. Robbie Johnson, a public information officer for IDL, said some of this work will become more visible in the coming days, as personnel work to repair damage to the landscape, including a 33-mile dozer line that can be seen from the Foothills.

"They'll use excavators. ... They'll move the dirt, and sometimes they'll create a berm or just rough up the ground. And they'll also do things for erosion," Johnson told the Statesman, referring to work around the dozer line.

Seeds will be planted over the area once repair work is done.

Johnson told the Statesman that the fire's estimated cost is already over $4 million — at nearly $300,000 per day, she said.

Some of these costs will decrease as personnel and resources are freed up. As for now, 206 individuals continue to work on containment, suppression and repair, she said, even with the battle almost over.

Johnson said a helicopter was released from the fight Friday, which also will lower costs, and the Nevada incident management team is set to depart Monday.

Afterwards, the longer-term impacts of the fire fall on a number of local agencies, which met with the incident management team last Friday.

"It was great to see everybody coming together," Johnson said of the cooperator meeting.

She said dealing with long-term impacts such as erosion is "a little bit uncharted territory" for local agencies including Idaho Fish and Game, which manages the Boise River Wildlife Management Area , a 36,000-acre protected space that was hit hard by the fire.

Johnson also reminded the public to respect road and trail closures, including on Homestead Trail off Council Springs Road.

"There's a lot of activity that you don't see because it's behind the hills," Johnson said.

Roads and trails remain closed on the Boise Front segment of the Boise River WMA west of Idaho 21 and north of Warm Springs Avenue, according to an update from the Department of Lands.